Poplar Bluff City Manager Mark Massingham made a commitment Monday to begin meeting weekly with code enforcement as part of an effort to clean up the city.
Massingham also challenged citizens to become involved with the effort and particularly the April 28 Buff up the Bluff event.
Despite growth in the town's business community, Massingham said residential areas are in danger of being lost.
"Right now, I think that's one of our biggest challenges. We're losing them to people that don't care what their homes look like," Massingham said. "They don't care that their grass is 15 inches. They don't care that there's trash in the yard."
It's a problem that is beginning to infiltrate all areas of the city, and officials bear some of the responsibility, he believes.
"We've kind of let our sidewalks deteriorate over the years. We've let condemned buildings sit there year after year without tearing them down," he said.
While the city does not have more money to devote to these problems, Massingham said, he wants to look for other ways to make improvements.
"It all starts with pride. If the citizens don't think the city has pride in the city, then they're not going to have pride in their neighborhood," he said. "I'm just telling you this to let you know that I'm committed and I think our staff is, to work very hard this year to try to clean this town up and some of these neighborhoods."
The appearance of the city speaks loudly, either negatively or positively, said council member at-large Ron Black.
Things have been falling through the cracks, he said.
The city cannot do this by itself, Massingham said.
"It's got to be a community effort. It's got to be everybody who lives in the neighborhoods," he said.
Buff up the Bluff is an event that provides dumpsters for city residents to throw away a wide range of items.
While it is only one weekend a year, it is a good place to start, Massingham said.
Many residents don't have vehicles to haul items to the dump site, he said.
"I guess now I'm talking to the citizens. If you have a pickup and you have a neighbor that needs something taken to Buff up the Bluff, jump in and help your neighbor," he said. "Help clean up your block or your community. This is not just a city problem. Everybody is included here."